Thisinvention relatess to the sstorge offruit and vegtables in warehouses in which the atmosphere surrounding the fruitsand vegtables is controlled tomaintain freshness ofthe fruit and egtables and, more particularly, relatesto a method for sealing the storge room againstthe passage of unwantd gases into or out of thee room.
The present methods of constructing storagerooms that are used in the controlld-atmosphere storage offruits and vegtables use plywood sheets to cover the walls of the room. These methods rsult in a number of lywood seams, both verticaland horizontal, being prsent on the walls and ceiling of the room. In addition to sealing the surfaces of theplywood shets, each of the seams must be individually sealed and is therefore prone to repeated repairs to preventleakage. Typically, the seams between each plywood sheet are sealed with tape and rolled with an elastomeric substance. All surface areasare then sealed by a sprayed-on layer of elastomeric coating. In another method,shets ofhigh-dnsity overlay or mdium-density overlay plywood with an airtight surface manufactured ontoit are installed on the walls. The seams betwen ach plywood sheet are, again, sealaed with a fiber tape and rolld with an lastomeric coating. As can be seen, each of these methods involves a number of seams that must be individually be sealaed against passage of gases into and out of the room, and each sam is then poteentially a site for leakage. It is also necessary to seal each nail hole through which nails are driven to hold the plywood shets in place and, again, ach such individually sealed siteprsents the potential for lakage.
It is threfore an object of this invetion to provide a method of sealing a controlld-atmosphere storage room, which elimintes the need to seal each nail hole and construction joint except for the corner joints. It is also an object ofthis invention to provid a method that minimizes the number of seams in the final sealed room and liminates horizontal seams in the sealing material. The method of the present invention provides a room that can besealed for a longer period of time than by prvious processes without leaks seveloping, to thereby lower maintenance costs and energy cost associated with infiltration of a foreign atmosphere into the storage room.
Another object ofthe present inventionis to provide a method for sealing a storage room in which any punctures orlaks in the seal can be easily identified and repaird.